Corona Australis & Helix Neb

[tornado33]

Hi all
Early cloud cleared to a pretty good albeit dewy night.
First I got a rather deep (for Newcastle) Corona Australis, 14x10 mins ISO 200. No filters at all. Large version here (http://d1355990.i49.quadrahosting.com.au/Scott/coronaaustralis14x10minsiso200unfmo d350d6inch_filtered.jpg)

Then I got the Helix Neb, ISO 400 with LPS filter. Large version here (http://d1355990.i49.quadrahosting.com.au/Scott/helixneb9x10minsis0400lpsmod350d6in chdss.jpg)

Both images with Meade 6 inch F3.6 "Cometracker" SN, Baader MPCC coma corrector and Hutech modded 350D.
It got VERY damp as the night wore on. Fog soon covered the lower parts of Newcastle, creeping up the street and wafting in patches over my place.

It was the first proper test of my new "high tech" anti dew system, an electric blanket wrapped round the dewshield and end of the scope. It works brilliantly. Water was running off everything except the scope, whose corrector plate was bone dry.
Scott

[toryglen-boy]

Hi Scott, some great images there, although seems to be awash with noise, but that said, some lovely colours in there also.


:thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

They are rather well known objects for you to image Scott :thumbsup:

Nice job on both as usual, colours nice and yes quite deep for a DSLR and Newcastle city coal mining skies :eyepop:
I love your setup shots, I wasn't sure if it was a scope outfit or just a small pile photographed in your garage? Looking at your setup invokes memories of the 80's, you just need some daggy wallpaper on the Samson pier post and it would be complete :lol:...no seriously it is clearly a nice high tech modern scientific facility :whistle:

I was out past Kurri last night (and two other cold nights this week) and I could have done with that lecki blanki :cold: instead I would set an exposure set going and jump in the car and sleep for an hour, there was a frost on two mornings too so must have reached zero C ...felt like I was back in Canberra on a cold autumn night :) (would get to -7C on occassions on mid winter nights there, so zero is nutin :whistle:)

Nice job mate :thumbsup:

Mike

[toryglen-boy]

A bit OT, but not totally, is there a thing about Canberra being cold? i find alot of Canberrans talking of cold winters, but i dont find it cold here at all? i did check, minus -7 has only happened a few times in the last hundred years, and the lowest recorded temp was -10 in 1971.

it was chilly last night, but i had on a t-shirt with a jacket over it, so i wasnt so bad

;)

[tornado33]

Thanks all
Winter is good for 2 reasons, the cold benefits digital imaging and it gets dark nice and early.

Mike, I bet your camera can get nice and cold when the temperature is already zero or below to start with :)
Scott

[strongmanmike]

Don't think Scotty is that precious re highjacking his thread a little bit...look at his set-up :rofl:

Hmm?..I recorded quite few nights of -6 or -7 over the 25 years I lived in the Canberra region doing astronomy :shrug:. Since I moved to the Newcastle area, start of 2007, a very cold winter night is around +5C :rofl:I too was at the scope with shorts, Tshirt and maybe a jumper? I have been here over two year now so the body is de-aclimatising (is that a word?) zero C at Kurri Kurri (it's inland a bit) felt quite cold and required a few layers and IIS beanie :whistle:

Mike

[strongmanmike]

Yes I guess last night it was zero'ish at Kurri Kurri so I could have had the chip at more than -60C if I had wanted but I run at -35C all year (even in mid summer) so I can use the same dark sets :)

Mike

[toryglen-boy]

Thanks for the explanation Mike, you want to try coming where i come from, maybe thats why i dont feel it? my cold Northern blood ....

i have been in the Highlands of Scotland when it was -22, the sky was ablaze and it was fabulous, although i have been lucky enough to have once had some contract work on the north coast of Iceland, where it got down to -42 !!

:eyepop:

anyway ... back on target ..

[5ash]

I live on the outskirts of Kurri Kurri and its been a very mild winter so far , but i still keep inside my small observatory. Where were you imaging from Mike?
philip

[Tamtarn]

Your Corona Australis has come up a treat Scott :thumbsup:

Just can't believe your set up. The electric blanket is priceless :lol:

It sure seems to be working well for you ;)

[Hagar]

Gee Scott, not you usual images. I like them and love your dew solution. Very inovative and if it works why not.

Well done and I look forward to more from this scope.

[Alchemy]

i think i would pull the electric blanket off the scope and wrap it around myself if its freezing :lol:

RE the helix. if the original stacked version does not have that much noise do this

1. raise the black point on the processed image slightly

2. get the stacked unprocessed version and give it a curve until the black of the sky is slightly lighter than the fully processed version

3. layer one over the other and blend as lighten...... behold the noise is gone. most anyway depending on how clean the originals are.

this can be tweaked in either direction but its a very efective way to reduce sky background noise in non complex images


clive

[Robh]

Scott,

I think you've just started a new run on electric blankets!
Nice pics! I was actually looking at that globular cluster a couple of nights ago.
For anyone interested, the globular cluster is NGC 6723 and is actually in the neighbouring constellation of Sagittarius. Upwards to right of it is the double star HR 7170, consisting of two blue-white stars of magnitudes 6.4/6.6, separated by 13".

Regards, Rob.

[h0ughy]

the master on innovation Scott - congrats on the nice dry images

[gregbradley]

Nice images and well done on your clever use of a common thing to help you out.

It was foggy at my dark site as well on Thurs night, only twice I have seen it do that in 4 years.

Do you find the ISO 200 helps you go deeper with less noise?

Greg.

[tornado33]

Thanks all.

I reworked the Helix Neb shot, now theres a bit less noise and more detail in the bright parts. Its also shown in full size in my original post here (http://d1355990.i49.quadrahosting.com.au/Scott/helixneb9x10minsis0400lpsmod350d6in chdss.jpg) I will try Alchemys suggestion too.

I use ISO 200 yes to try and avoid noise but also as my skies are too light for 10 mins at ISO 400 unfiltered.
Scott

[venus]

Amazing images again Scott. I'm gobbsmacked at the sight of your equipment very intriguing.
and toryglen -42 !! can't even begin to imagine how cold that is. I wear coats in Summer here in Newcastle sometimes....

[stephend]

Great pix Scott!

Can only admire coz my part of Newcastle is hardly dark enough for selenology.

That electric blanket looks so dam' affectionate ! You should name that camera!

[multiweb]

Two great pictures. Love corona australis. The colors came up real nice. :thumbsup: Good tip with the electric blanket too but I reckon I'd have to fight to the death to get my wife's blanket on the scope :whistle::lol:

[southseeker]

I looked up NGC6723 on Starry Night but I don't have the double star. Is the dark shape NGC6727 about 30 arcmin at pa 120° from globular?

And the two outer stars epsilon (left) and gamma (right) CrA ?
cheers, george :D

[Robh]

George,

Easier to explain with this sketch. The boomerang shaped dark nebula is Bernes 157. NGC 6726/7 is a reflection nebula around the wider pair SAO 210828/9.

Regards, Rob

[tornado33]

many thanks all
NGC 6727 is the blue bright reflection nebula around the double stars. The bright white star above and just to the left of the globular is Epsilon, the star at extreme right is indeed Gamma.

Ive seen the nebula NGC 6727 visually in George Livanos's home built 18 inch scope when he had it at the old paintball IIS site. It was easy to see. Of course the dark brown bernes 157 is impossible to see any colour in and only betrays its presence by a lack of background stars.

Its a beautiful area of sky and is good to image with both with short and long FL setups
Scott